March 23, 2014 7:59pm EDTMarch 23, 2014 3:24pm EDTIt was easily the best game of the NCAA Tournament. And Kentucky is the one moving on. Julius Randle has a near triple double, and the No. 8 Wildcats hand the Shockers their first loss of the season with a 78-76 round of 32 win.The action has been intense in the early going of the Kentucky vs. Wichita State game.(AP Photo)

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Postgame: How about Kentucky's opponent in the Sweet 16: Louisville. Next Friday in Indianapolis, we'll have a rematch of a game won by the Wildcats 73-66 in December at Rupp Arena. It's an easy drive for both schools to Indy. That will be one hot ticket between the last two national champions. A look at the updated bracket.

Postgame: It was an incredibly well-played game on both sides. Kentucky shot 54 percent vs. Wichita State's 55 percent. Perhaps the biggest second-half stat for the Wildcats: they turned the ball over only 3 times in the final 20 minutes.

Postgame: Cleanthony Early had one heck of a game with 31 points. He hit from everywhere, but it wasn't enough. Four Kentucky starters scored at least 13 points, led by Andrew Harrison's 20.

3.0 seconds left: Fred VanVleet's 3-pointer at the buzzer is no good. Kentucky 78, Wichita State 76. Shockers' first loss of the season. They end it 35-1. Kentucky moves on to Sweet 16 to face Louisville.

7.2 seconds left: Andrew Harrison at the line, 2 shots, 1 point lead. Makes the first, misses the second. 3.2 seconds left, with Wichita State down two and a chance to either tie or win.

29.3 seconds left: Ron Baker's 3-pointer off the glass pulls Wichita State within 1. Wow! The best game of the tournament by far. Crunch time. Who will rise? Who will fold?

3:54 left, second half: As CBS analyst has described, this has been a heavyweight fight. Both teams slugging it out. Shockers up 69-65, but Wildcats have the ball to try and close it to a one-possession game. Cleanthony Early now has 27 points and has been on fire in the second half. Fred VanVleet has four fouls, which is another key development in the game.

5:11 left, second half: Cleanthony Early has 9 of Wichita's last 11 points. Shockers up 66-62.

7:50 left, second half: Cleanthony Early could have broken the game open had he converted on an alley-oop dunk attempt. Nick Wiggins gave him a great pass, but the ball rattled off the rim. On the other end, Andrew Harrison draws a foul and is going to the line. Wichita State 58, Kentucky 55, TV timeout.

8:54 left, second half: Another Cleanthony Early layup has Shockers up 3. Wildcats gassed, and coach John Calipari opts for a timeout. Anthony has 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting, and many of his makes have not been easy looks.

9:30 left, second half: Cleanthony Early has been special in this game. His runner puts Wichita State up 56-55. He has 17 points in the game.

11:38 left, second half: Julius Randle has had some big buckets this half, but none perhaps more sweet than his drive-to-the-tin, hold-off-until-the-last-second shot that draws contact and goes in. HUGE smile from Randle in going to the line. But this is also the TV timeout. Kentucky 52-49. The Wildcats' size starting to play a big role in this game. UK has a 24-15 rebounding edge. Eight of those on offensive end.

13:07 left, second half: After Kentucky takes its biggest lead of the game at 50-46, Wichita State's Darius Carter makes one free throw, then Cleanthony Early makes a 2-pointer to cut Kentucky's lead to 50-49.

14:46 left, second half: Ron Baker leads Wichita State with 14 points. He's scored the Shockers' last 6. Five different Wildcats have scored in the early going of this half. Wichita State 46, Kentucky 45. Kentucky holds 21-13 rebounding advantage.

16:22 left, second half: Alex Poythress' layup in transition gives Kentucky his first lead since 19-18, but Ron Baker races to the other end for an and-1 layup. Wichita State 43, Kentucky 41.

16:32 left, second half: Fred VanVleet picks up his third foul, and second of this half. He's headed to the bench with Shockers up 1.

17:32 left, second half: Julius Randle, hello friends. Some aggression on the boards in the first 2 1/2 minutes is part of the reason why Kentucky is now down just 40-39.

Halftime: Most impressive stats from the first 20 minutes. Kentucky has turned the ball over 8 times vs. Wichita State's 4. The Shockers have turned the Wildcats' mistakes into points. Both teams have shot 54 percent from the field, with identical 13-for-24 performances from the field. Wichita has made 8-for-9 from the line, and Kentucky just 1-for-3.

End of first half: James Young's 3-pointer with 12 seconds left was huge to keep UK within striking distance. Wichita State 37, Kentucky 31.

46.2 left, first half: Off another steal, Fred VanVleet leads Cleanthony Early with a terrific bounce pass toward the bucket. Early emphatically put it down for a dunk over Willie Cauley-Stein, and then made the free throw. Wichita State 37, Kentucky 28.

1:36 left, first half: With Shockers up 6, key end to the half here.

3:12 left, first half: Pace continues to be exceptionally quick. Wichita State knows Kentucky is not a deep team and is trying to use that to its advantage. It isn't that much of an issue now, but it's worth watching in the second half. Wichita State 32, Kentucky 25.

5:12 left, first half: Shockers on a 15-4 run, and their work in transition has been very effective. Wichita State 30, Kentucky 23. Wildcats take another timeout to regroup.

7:46 left, first half: Fred VanVleet hit one of the sweeter 10-foot runners you'll see to put Wichita up 24-21. Both teams shooting over 50 percent through the first 12 minutes.

9:34 left, first half: Andrew and Aaron Harrison have 14 of Kentucky's 19 points. But Shockers keep having answers. Tekele Cotton's 3-pointer, and great defense now have Wichita up 22-19. Kentucky forced to call timeout.

11:48 left, first half: Kentucky shooting exceptionally well in early going, at 64 percent clip. But Shockers down only 1 at 16-15.

3:21 p.m.: Aaron Harrison feeling it early. Has made all 3 of his shots. Has seven of team's 11 thus far.

3:16 p.m.: One thing you likely will notice today is that Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall is averse to taking timeouts. It's a strategy he employs because of an incredible amount of trust in his team . SN's Ryan Fagan has the story.

3:13 p.m.: Aaron Harrison and Andrew Harrison score the first points of the game before Ron Baker answers with a 3. The intensity is high on both sides. Score at the under-16 timeout: Wichita State 7, Kentucky 6.